Welcome to the second installment in ValuSource Insider’s new series exploring the dozens of major valuation-related databases you can find on the BV Data University website. This month we’ll dig into Bizminer, a top-notch resource for benchmarking data in more than 9,000 lines of business in thousands of U.S. market areas, drawn from a database that includes more than 18 million businesses. (If you missed it, check out last month’s article on RCReports.)

The Bizminer Backstory

Bizminer was first established in 1990 as an economic development consulting operation. Over the course of dozens of consulting engagements, though, its founder discovered that much of the available industry data was too broad — the data generally was presented on a national basis, preventing thorough local and regional analysis.

In response, he began developing a deeper database. After an online version launched in the early 2000s, academics started turning to the database, quickly followed by consulting and accounting firms and, of course, the valuation community.

Bizminer initially offered industry financial profiles, and those remain the flagship product today. Profiles are available on U.S., state, and metro levels. National industry profiles are available in three-, five-, and nine-year reports, and local profiles come in three- and five-year reports. All profiles include:

· Dozens of financial ratios covering cash flow, profitability, efficiency, and debt-risk

· Balance sheet

· Detailed profit and loss statements

· Sources and use of funds

· Valuation multiples

Bizminer also sells a sole proprietor industry financial series with expanded metrics and ratios.

According to Galen Pugh, Bizminer’s head of sales, the company operates differently from many other database firms, producing a customized product for users. “A lot of database companies have this massive amount of data they produce or update every year. With ours, the data you’ll receive isn’t there until you go out and create it with your query. Our tool then finds the appropriate firms and creates the benchmarks.”

The data comes from government sources — such as the IRS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Economic Census — and some private statistical sources. “We have a total of about 15 sources of raw data,” Pugh says, “and the sources are listed on our website and in every report.”

While the same sources are used for all of Bizminer’s products, the emphasis may vary. For example, some industry financial profiles might lean more on IRS data.

 

Pugh says Bizminer performs significant data updates twice a year, in the winter and summer — and they hope to increase to quarterly updates in 2027.

Reports are available in both Excel and PDF formats and delivered immediately. The results can be exported to a spreadsheet, so valuators can work with the figures, rather than simply looking at static numbers.

Using Bizminer in Valuation

Bizminer offers a variety of products that can help valuation professionals in the quest to efficiently deliver comprehensive and defensible business valuations. You might turn to the company for:

Benchmarking data

Benchmarking is the most obvious use case for valuators. The firms in Bizminer’s database cut across more than 15 “sales classes” (or revenue ranges), from less than $500,000 up to $500 million or greater. Sales class is one of three parameters valuators can set when searching for benchmarking data.

They also can select the industry and the geographic level (national, state, or metro). “Instead of just searching for data on HVAC businesses in the United States,” Pugh says, “you can search for HVAC contractors in Philadelphia that specialize in duct work in the $5 million to $10 million revenue range.” To get an idea of the final product, check out this sample report for plumbing, heating, and air conditioning contractors in the Harrisburg, Penn., metro area in the $1 million to $2.49 million sales class, covering five years of data.

Bizminer can go deeper by using its proprietary “extended” NAICS codes. “We add a decimal point to the standard six-digit NAICS code and then have two, four, or six additional points, with six providing the most granular data,” Pugh says.

For example, you could search for ethnic restaurants (the six-figure restaurant code plus two additional points) or Chinese restaurants (the restaurant code plus four additional points). The assignment of additional points is based on private data sources.

Industry demographics

Bizminer offers detailed statistical industry market profiles that also can be targeted down to zip code levels. Valuators can obtain a comprehensive grasp of the relevant market from the wide range of available information, including:

· Competitors

· Industry market volume and share (industry, small business, and startup)

· Site average annual sales (plus small business and startup)

· Market penetration

· Number of employees

· Productivity

· Ownership

· Market area demographics

 

The industry information can prove valuable when, for example, assessing a company’s risk and market position. Here’s a sample industry market profile using the same demographics as the industry financial profile above.

Company-specific reports

Bizminer boasts objective profiles on more than 16 million U.S. businesses, derived from projected company, peer group, and industry data. The reports contain industry market analysis and key financial ratio indicators that can inform financial statement adjustments, among other things. They also include sales-based and earnings-based company valuations that valuators can compare to their own figures. This sample report covers — you guessed it — an HVAC contractor in Pennsylvania.